


To Smile

by Korekinkshaming_Shingucci



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: A Cheesy Ending, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cheesy Angst, Contextual Spoilers, Late by two days, Spoilers for Ryoma's Backstory, birthday fic, kukuku
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 20:05:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11387451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Korekinkshaming_Shingucci/pseuds/Korekinkshaming_Shingucci
Summary: For most people, Birthdays signify happiness, joy, one more year to add to their age making them feel more mature, ready to take over the world.For Ryoma Hoshi, they are a constant reminder of the day it all went down to hell.





	To Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Two days too late for Ryoma’s birthday. My first fanfic will forever be marked down as “The Hoshi birthday fic that lacked punctuality”. Oh well, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Player, was one of the more infamous students at the Gifted Inmates’ Academy, to say the least.

How can he not be? With his Tennis match winning streaks, record-breaking serve speeds, many world title victories and more, all despite standing at a mere 105cm.

Oh, who was he kidding? His only current source of questionable popularity was the fact that he wiped an entire mafia gang all by his lonesome and that all he got awarded for his actions was a nice vacation in a max-security prison and a death sentence. He was a mass murderer, the lowest of low in society and even more so among his peers (if he could even call them that), a threat, a bad influence, someone who deserved to die alone and more…

He would preach such things day and night to anyone who approached him, in hopes that it would deter them from "getting close to a killer like him".

So, why the _heck_ was there a note lying at the foot of his door inviting him to some sort of gaming and movie night?

Ryoma had woken up, as much as one can when they stayed up all night due to nightmares, at around 10AM that day. After showering, dressing up, grabbing a pack of candy cigarette in his pocket and patting it for re-assurance, he prepared to leave his dorm room and head for breakfast since the others would have left the cafeteria by that time. It was then that he noticed the little sheet of paper lying right by the exit of his room.

It was probably slid underneath his door and if the bubbly writing that seemed as if it was written by someone who didn’t know basic Japanese, the third person speech and the many mentions of "Kami-sama" and words such as "totes" or "like" were anything to go by, then the author of this note was none other than the Ultimate Artist, Angie Yonaga.

Out of all the students who would try to get Ryoma involved into their little group of sixteen, Angie was definitely one of the more persistent ones. And oh boy, oh Johnny was she also the most annoying one.

It’s not that he didn’t appreciate the sentiment; Ryoma knew she had good intentions (he could see it in her lively, shining blue eyes that contrasted his own dead, dark grey ones). It’s just that she had some rather unorthodox ways of showing said intentions, up to and including asking for his blood for a ritual or sacrifice of some sort. Of course, he declined, despite not having a problem with shedding his own blood as evidenced from the many razor cuts on his arms. Thank humanity for long sleeves.

And while there was nothing out of place about the letter, aside from an extremely well-detailed drawing of himself giving a thumbs up at the bottom of it, Ryoma didn’t even hesitate to crumple up the paper in his small hands before tossing it in the bin, a small sigh escaping his curled up lips as he did so.

Bummer, he probably should’ve kept it for the sake of the drawing, it was the first time in a while since he had seen himself smiling so happily.

No matter, right now he needed food. He may have thought of himself as scum who didn’t deserve anything remotely positive, but his growling stomach clearly disagreed with that sentiment, having gotten used to a healthy athlete’s diet over the years.

He quickly pulled out his Monopad (odd name, why not just call it an Usami-Pad or something?) to check the whereabouts of his classmates; Korekiyo, Shuichi and Kokichi in the library… Kaito and Kaede in the Ultimate Pianist’s Talent Lab… Tsumugi and Rantaro by the fountain… Ah, Tenko standing near the cafeteria’s entrance. Great, and here he was hoping he wouldn’t have to deal with her man hating-speeches ever again.

It was a bit creepy being notified of where everyone was 24/7 as long as they had their Monopads with them, not to mention the rule forbidding them from not carrying said item when they’re outside of their dorm rooms, but it came quite handy for the tennis-man in his quest for solitude.

When Usami introduced them to this feature, the first thing Ryoma did was ask her, well, threaten her, to render him undetectable on the school map. She resisted at first, but his glare got to her nonetheless and she complied. The others weren’t very happy with the update; not knowing the location of a well-known killer among them was a sure way of breeding paranoia, but soon the dust settled down when they noticed how rarely he tried to approach anyone.

Of course, some people didn’t even need the stout man being impossible to locate as a motive to fear or despise him, such as the aikidoka standing as a final obstacle between him and the cafeteria door.

There was an odd silence and a bit of tension in the air as she stood there, towering over the tennis player by an entire half a meter and staring at him, an intense look in her green eyes. Ryoma waited for some sort of heroic "Halt, murderous _men_ ace!" to come out of her mouth, but she just stayed there, as if frozen in time and… Was that sweat all over her face?

Whatever, he didn’t come here to have a staring contest.

Clearing his throat, he drawled "Do you mind?" as he gestured towards the cafeteria’s door with his head, a bored expression crossing his face.

Tenko suddenly fell back to Earth apparently, jumping slightly and darting her now wide open eyes around before looking to the side and lamely uttering a "N-No, Tenko doesn’t…" She then moved to the side, giving the convict enough space to head for the door.

Huh, she’s being somewhat cooperative and friendly.

His surprises didn’t end there however, as when he reached the doorknob he heard her talk again "T-Tenko wanted to say g-good morning, Hoshi-san!"

Ryoma blinked once. Twice. Before realizing he should probably reply, "Uh, right. Mornin’ to you too, Chabashira," the girl nodded a bit at his reply.

Scratch that first thought, she’s being way too fucking cooperative and friendly.

Suddenly, the silent staring contest returned, only this time it was awkward rather than tense.

"Alright, I’ll just… be in the caf right now,” Ryoma said, deciding to break the silence.

"Y-Yes! Tenko has… t-things to attend to herself!" the aikido practitioner replied "It was n-nice talking to you, H-Hoshi-san!"

As soon as she finished that last sentence, she sprinted off at an incredible speed, the sound of a vase shattering accompanying her as she turned the corner. _Jeez_ , Ryoma thought, _with a bit of practice she might become better than me at flash-steppin’_.

He turned his back to where the commotion occurred, finally getting the chance to enter his destination.

There was something quite out of place about this encounter and it kept bugging the short man as he filled his plate with portions of food. He decided to think about it more after his hunger is satisfied but… why was Tenko so uncharacteristically nice today?

_Why today, on the date of the most cursed day in his existence?_

 

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

 

After finishing his plate and washing it (it would be rude to leave it unclean like that, even if a particular someone would’ve enjoyed cleaning it up), Ryoma pulled out his Monopad again and took a peek at where everyone else was.

Quite a few people were on the other floors; Angie, Himiko, Kiibo, Korekiyo and Gonta were all in the Ultimate Artist’s Talent Lab. Kaito, and oddly enough Maki were in none other than the Ultimate Tennis Player’s Talent Lab and judging from the constant movement they were making, the two were clearly in the middle of a match. Sucks, he had been planning on going there. Miu was in the Ultimate Maid’s Talent Lab with Kirumi, most likely pestering the hardworking girl. It was worth noting no one was outside the building however, maybe he could go there.

He really had nothing to do, huh. Looks like this was going to be another regular day in the life of Ryoma Hoshi life. Just wandering around as his past haunts him like a goddamn demon.

Walking outside the school, Ryoma stood for a moment and stretched out his little body before strolling over to a tree and sitting beneath its shade. The tree roots were larger and longer than his stubby legs, as if even Mother Nature enjoyed reminding him of his physical deformities.

Of course, that didn’t stop him from becoming the person he is now, in a good way and a bad way at once.

As he sat there with his head resting against the tree trunk, he couldn’t help but enjoy the calm atmosphere. The sun was blaring in the mostly clear sky, but a few clouds would lazily float by and blot out its scorching beams temporarily. A gentle breeze passed by, rustling the leaves of the trees and tall grass surrounding the area while birds happily chirped.

Letting a breath in contentment, Ryoma pulled out his pack of candy cigarettes, closed his eyes and placed one between his lips, chewing on it and occasionally playfully moving it from one corner of his mouth to another. Since regular cigarettes were nowhere to be found in the academy, (and Kaito’s kiseru had been confiscated) the tennis man had to settle for second best. Despite all of his crimes he still allowed himself to indulge in a guilty pleasure. Disgusting, he thought, ever so self-depreciative.

For a brief moment, he thought back to the day he and his girlfriend bought a pack of cigarettes (or “cancer sticks” as his mother liked calling them) for a dare…

And as soon as the thought came up, he quickly tried to shake it away, going as far as to bang the back of his head against the trunk three times in a row. Ow. His closed eyes were now squinting as he tried to chase off the offending memory from his mind, but to no avail.

Maybe some company could help distract him from this…?

No. No and a thousand more ‘No’s.

Getting closer to people and as such, getting attached to them, would only bring him more pain. And as selfish as that sounds, Ryoma really didn’t need any more of that.

When, or more like _if_ , he got out of here, he’d get thrown right back into death row and straight into his execution. Death by hanging, if he remembered correctly. What was the point of “making friends and getting along, love, love!” if all that does is hurt everyone in the end?

This was the cycle of solitude he was stuck in; between his desire to be loved and his fear that it would all be in vain. Sort of like a limbo, really.

It’s only fitting for someone as horrible as him to suffer an equally horrible fate after all.

After his train of thoughts finally calmed down, going back to its usual gloomy and self-loathing state of mind, Ryoma laid his head back again, and not for the first time that day, he sighed. A long, tired sigh.

He then realized how exhausted he felt; he hadn’t exactly slept all that well the night before. So he decided to let himself drift into a quick nap.

His consciousness slowly slipped away and he soon began dreaming about prime ministers feeding the bodies of deceased criminals to piranhas.

 

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

 

When Ryoma woke up, the first thing he noticed was how sweaty his body felt. Leather jackets combined with stuffy jumpsuits weren’t exactly a summer day’s clothes and sleeping underneath a tree while its 30°C doesn’t help either.

The next thing he noticed was that the sun was setting down, pulling its final rays of light like a seamstress pulling on golden threads.

Ugh. So much for a quick nap, but it’s not like he was going to do anything productive with his day.

After getting up, popping many joints in his body up to and including his neck, Ryoma pulled out his Monopad for the third time that day.

It seems as though everyone was in the cafeteria, most likely gathered for dinner. Except for Tsumugi who was in the girls’ bathroom… Why did she go there so often? Did she have a digestive problem?

That last thought confirmed to the convict that the Monopad’s school map was indeed a way of stalking.

Seeing that this was his chance to slip away anywhere without being pestered, he stuffed the privacy infringing tool inside his jacket and quickly walked his way inside. He then headed over to his dorm room for a quick shower and after drying his body and grabbing a new set of clothes completely identical to his first one (everyone’s closets had multiple sets of the same odd looking in uniform for some reason), he set off for the second floor and reached his destination; his Talent Lab.

As he opened the door rather reluctantly, he was met with the darkness of the room, but what he saw when he turned on the light was something he never expected.

He suddenly found himself back in the living room of his old house on his 16th birthday, with a banner colorfully declaring that much hung by the curtains, a somewhat deformed cake with sixteen unlit candles was innocently resting on the table with a few balloons here and there spread across the room.

But all of that didn’t catch his attention as much as the bullet-hole ridden bodies of his mother, father and his girlfriend that he had introduced to his parents just the other day did.

He opened his mouth, primed to let out a scream at the terrifying sight.

“-IRTHDAY HOSHI-KUN!”

But the moment he blinked, the bodies were gone and the living room faded away, replaced by his Talent Lab where fifteen other Ultimate students stood, all wearing party hats and happily singing him the Happy Birthday song and throughout it all, he remained frozen like a statue, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

As the song ended, Angie went behind the group for a moment before coming back carrying a beautifully done cake shaped to resemble a Russian Blue cat, with the emblem on Ryoma’s hat frosted on top of its head. The cat carried a large lit candle sculpted to look like the former prisoner himself on its back.

“Kami-sama wouldn’t tell Angie how old Ryoma was turning today,” the artist declared as she approached him, “so she simply made a candle that looked like him instead!”

“C’mon, blow the candle already!” yelled Kaito from behind her, impatient as ever.

“Yes, make a wish too, Hoshi-kun!” cheered Kaede.

For a moment everyone stood there in anticipation, their faces covered with rather excited smiles. But then they noticed nothing was happening on the other end of the room, prompting a few eyebrows to be quirked, a few “huh?”s, a couple sideway glances, and a “what’s going on, I can’t see!” from Kokichi.

Then they heard a quiet sniffle.

Then another.

Then they saw movement as Ryoma reached out to the brim of his hat and lowered it over his eyes, but not before a few tears trickled down his face.

“Hoshi-kun, you ok there dude?” asked Rantaro.

“D-Did we overdo it?! Are you perhaps not content with being surprised?!” panicked Kiibo.

“…no…” the tennis man croaked quietly, too quietly.

“It’s… It’s not that, I’m just… you guys…” he raised his head and his beanie along with it, showing a happy smile and what would’ve been a soft look on his fish-like eyes if they weren’t so tearful and bloodshot “I’m just too happy right now…!”

Sighs of relief escaped the group at that, “And here I was scared we made you upset!” said Tsumugi.

“No kidding,” started Kokichi “Next time warn us when you’re gonna be all dramatic. You made Saihara-chan cry!”

“Hey!” yelled said detective in protest.

“Eeeh? So what’s up with those tear tracks you’ve got, Ouma?” pointed Himiko.

“That’s just sweat! It’s too cramped in this room!” complained the supreme leader.

“Before this delves into another dispute,” interrupted Kirumi “I believe now is a good time for you to blow this candle, yes?”

“Yeah, hurry the fuck up! I’m gettin’ hungry here!” yelled Miu.

Ryoma smiled. These people had just prepared a birthday party all for him despite barely knowing him, despite his dismissive demeanor and despite his past as a murderer.

They were either the dumbest most naïve people he’s ever met, or the kindest most accepting ones to bless this Earth. And either way, whether he liked it or not, for as long as he stayed here, they were to be his friends, perhaps even his family.

And as he closed his eyes and blew his candle and as he heard them clapping and whistling, Ryoma wished nothing more than to spend what remains of his life with this odd collection of people who all cared for each other so deeply despite their differences.

After the candle went off, the sixteen students sat down at the long table set up in the middle of the tennis court as Kirumi already started cutting at the cake, ready to enjoy the delicious looking pastry and each other’s company. And probably a food fight later on.

“So, so, Ryoma~,” Angie said from her seat as the maid served her a piece of cake, “Are you going to come over to the movie and gaming night with us~?”

As she asked that, Ryoma thought back to her letter and more specifically, to the drawing of him smiling happily and giving a thumbs up. For some reason, he suddenly wanted nothing more than to feel that expression on his face more often.

He let a small grin cross his face as he said, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> BONUS:  
> Ryoma: By the way, how did you trick me into thinking you were in the cafeteria? It’s against the rules to not have your Monopad on you, right?  
> Gonta: It is, but Gonta and Momota-kun tied up Usami-sensei and locked her in Shinguji-kun’s lab until the duration of the gaming and movie night ends!  
> Kaede: *Spits juice* What the hell?! Momota-kun, you told me you talked to her about this!  
> Kaito: Hey, it was either that or Iruma shocks her into fucking sleep mode!  
> Kaede: Iruma-san!  
> Miu: Fuckin’ traitor!  
> Maki: *Sigh* You morons…  
> Ryoma: Just… Just untie her so she doesn’t cry about it later.  
> Ryoma wakes up as a grumpy emo bitch the next day and everything goes back to normal.
> 
> I was intending on shoving a group hug somewhere in there because that is always heart-warming, isn’t it? But unfortunately I was in too much of a hurry and I think I accidentally fell asleep on my keyboard?  
> Anyway, please leave comments on this, especially if you have criticism. I’m fairly new to writing and would love some constructive feedback. Thanks for reading, kukuku~!


End file.
